- Roger IV of Foix
Roger IV (died
24 February 1265 ), son and successor of Roger-Bernard II the Great, was the seventhcount of Foix from 1241 to his death. His reign began with the south again at war with the north inFrance and, though he was reluctant to join his father's old ally,Raymond VII of Toulouse , in revolt and he did not aid theking of England , Henry III, in hisSaintonge War .Roger IV was a vassal of both the
count of Toulouse (for hiscounty of Foix ) and theking of France (for hisCarcassonne lands), then Louis IX. His loyalty to the king, however, took precedence and war broke out with Raymond VII (October 1242). Though Raymond was forced to submit to the king onNovember 30 , the war with Roger continued until January 1243, when the king ended it. The count of Foix was now solely a vassal of the king and Raymond spent the rest of his life (until 1249) trying to retrieve Roger's homage, to no avail.Like his father, Roger IV had troubles with the church and the
bishop of Urgel in particular and, in 1257, he successfully released the viscounty ofCastelbon from the bishop's jurisdiction. In February 1245, he gave many freedoms to his subjects and he signed "paréages " with the abbots ofMas-d'Azil (1246),Boulbonne (1253), andCombelongue (1255). In 1251, he built the church at Boulbonne, transferred his ancestors' remains there, and defended it against the exactions of numerous enemies. He persecutedCatharism , the heresy of his mother, Ermesinda of Castlebon, in order not to be at odds with theInquisition . He died on February 24, 1265, and was interred in Boulbonne next to his father.Marriage and children
Roger married Brunissenda of
Cardona , a daughter ofRamon VIII, Viscount of Cardona . They had six children:*
Roger-Bernard III of Foix (d. 1302).
*Peter of Foix.
*Sybille of Foix. MarriedAimery IV, Viscount of Narbonne .
*Ines of Foix. MarriedEschivat III, Count of Bigorre
*Philippa of Foix. MarriedArnauld, Count of Pailhars .
*Esclaramunda of Foix. MarriedJames II of Majorca .External links
* [http://www.foixstory.com/data/comtes/08.htm Histoire des comtes de Foix] .
* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/foix/foix2.html#ER4 A listing of descendants of Roger-Bernard I of Foix]
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